Fruity, Sweet or Dry Wines

There is often terminology thrown around that is, well, not incorrect but misleading. That is when it comes to Sweet, Fruity or Dry. Here's our attempt to clarify a little:

Fruitiness – Do not mistake fruitiness with sweetness. Tasting a beautiful dry Riesling might have a very fruity flavor and smell, but the sweet residual sugar is down to 3%, verses a very sweet Reisling as a dessert wine still carries the same fruitiness but the residual sugars are several times the amount, sometimes over 40%. A wine can carry fruit essence without being sweet. In fact, wine is made with fruit to consider that there will always be some element of fruitiness in every wine, just different types of fruit and different levels. A very fruit forward wine might be a bold Zinfandel that tastes like a cherry pie. That is not a wine that anyone would ever confuse with a sweet wine, is it?

Sweetness & Dryness – A wine can be dry and fruity or sweet and fruity but not sweet and dry. Sugar in the grapes when grown is converted to alcohol in the making of wine. If almost all the sugar is converted to alcohol, the wine is dry. If only some was converted, the wine has left over sugar, or residual sugar and is considered sweet. Understand?